First Encounter
by VincentGreggary
Summary: The first story in a fanfic series they may or may not be finished. This one is the first encounter with the mysterious organization known as Damage Inc. The main characters are Blue, Silver, and Roark (not to be confused with the gym leader)


The First Encounter

Chapter One

The sunlight was beginning to fade. The evening sun beamed it's last rays of light for the day. A path leading to the city stood long and winding. Upon this path walked a young girl whom was barely ten. A young girl who wore a dark dress and white gloves that were a gift. Her name was Blue.

She walked the path to the city that she and her brother had recently made their residence. Her and her brother were taken from their families a long time ago by a dark figure shrouded in mystery. They escaped him and ever since then have been living on their own. The trials of life were hard on the two and forced them both to resort to underhanded methods in order to survive. Life was hard for them, but they both believed that as long as they had each other they could face anything.

Blue and her brother were not biologically related, but they considered each other to be family. Their only family. Despite the loving bond they had for each other, they both deeply desired to return once more to the families they lost. Blue wanted this more so than her brother. He was to young to remember his old life and was much more content with Blue being his only family. Blue was old enough to remember a faint silhouette of her long lost parents, and the shadows of these memories plagued Blue with much grief. So the two have been searching a long time to find some traces of their lost heritage.

Blue walked the road leading to the city. She was very happy because she new that soon she would see her brother again. She thought about what she would do with him when she met up with him. She really wanted to do something fun with him before she had to say to him what she was dreading. Her mind was occupied with these thoughts, but then she came across a boy who was roughly her age. He was locked in battle with a Machop. The young boy commanded a Smeargle to fight the Machop.

The Pokemon trainer's appearance was very goofy. He wore a school boy uniform, that looked much to small for him. He had dark blond hair that was long and shabby, and it dangled like spaghetti underneath a dirty beret. His commands to Smeargle were hesitant and without conviction of purpose, and he stuttered in giving commands. His Smeargle carried out the commands that were ordered, but not without defiance. The boy seemed very inexperienced as a Pokemon trainer. The battle was an struggle for the goofy looking kid but he became the victor in the end.

Blue knew that by the kids ridiculous appearance, that it was the perfect money-making opportunity. She hid from the kid's sight in order to prepare her scam. Blue was a very experienced scam artist, and one of her favorites is to trick Pokemon trainers or enthusiasts to buy fake accessories that are supposed to enhance a Pokemon's abilities. Despite her age she was very physically mature. She had a very feminine grace and elegance that made her look very attractive. She used this attractiveness frequently to her advantage, especially when it came to ripping people off. The boy began to move down the path and Blue jumped into sight and yelled with elated excitement, "Wow that was so cool!"

The boy was caught by surprise and he tripped. He fell face first on the ground. Without him seeing Blue sneered and thought to herself, this is just to easy. She immediately helped the boy up onto his feet again and she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you like that. You just battled so well that I really wanted to meet you."

He smiled and blushed. " Oh wow t-thank, you m-miss. I've b-been t-t-trying to get m-my Smeargle to be m-m-more obedient, and I thought some b-battling w-would bring us closer together. I'm R-Roark by the way."

Blue smiled brightly, "Nice to meet you Roark, I'm Blue." She paused and pretended to think for a moment, then said, "You know, I might be able to help you out. You see I'm a traveling sales gir and I sell items to help trainers get the best out of their Pokemon's abilities. And I think I have just the thing." She reached for her knapsack and pulled out a red piece of cloth. "This is a Friendship Band. It allows trainers and their Pokemon to become closer at an accelerated rate!" The rag she held was a worthless piece of cloth that Blue found in her travels. " What do you thing!"

Roark responded, " Wow Blue I'd love to buy one, thank you. How much is it?"

She said, "Well, tell you what..." she said as she moved closer to him, with a look that was a mixture of innocence and seduction in her eyes, "...I really like you, so just for you, I'll only charge 600 Pke. How does that sound?

"That sounds fair," he said.

"Oh thank you so much," she burst out as hes affectionately embraced Roark.

His face turned redder than a tomato as he spoke awkwardly, "Uh...Okay...It's really no big deal...c-can y-you let go now, you're...uh...c-crushing me..."

"I'm sorry," Blue let go of him. She said, "I just got really excited."

"It's no b-big deal," said Roark smiling, still red in the face. He reached for his pocket and gave Blue the money.

"Thank you so much for your business," she said.

"Thank you Blue, this Friendship Band will be a big help to me." he said as he tied the rag around Smeargle's neck.

Blue put the money away an said, "Alright sweetie, I wish I could stay and chat more, but I have more business errands I gotta run. So goodbye byes," she said as she started to walk off into the other direction.

"Will we see each other again," the boy called out to her.

She turned around and called back, "I really hope so. Bye sweetie pie." With that she left the boy's presence, very satisfied with herself and yet another successful scam.

The boy who was named Roark now stood alone with his Smeargle. Smeargle still had the worthless cloth tied around it's neck. He spoke to himself, "What a very sweet girl." He stared into the setting sun and sighed, "What a shame." The boy and his Smeargle walked over to the defeated Machop who still lied on the grass. "Okay," he said, "Machop you can stop playing dead now." And with that the Machop sprang to life once more. The boy reached into his pocket and presented a pokeball. With a flick of the switch he returned the Machop to it's pokeball.

A smirk began to spread across his face. Roark snickered as he said, "Let the fun begin."

Chapter Two

In Goldenrod City, most of the train tracks that ran through the city were on the surface level. However there were still some underground tunnels that served as metros for the citizens of the city. Within one of these metro tunnels existed a maintenance room that has been completely unused for a decade. At least it was thought to be unused, but recently it has been inhabited by two young children. Both without an actual home, they made this their residence. Within the room sat a boy, named Silver.

Silver was very young, he was only seven years old. He wore dark clothes that deeply contrasted with his long blood red hair. He also wore black gloves that were given to him as a gift from his sister, whom he cared for deeply. He was young but by no means an innocent child. Him and his sister were trained at a very early age in the art of battle and deception. Silver was very well versed in both.

Today was the day that Silver's sister would return. Silver knew that his sister was looking for her parents and that because of this, absence was quite frequent for her, so Silver always enjoyed the time they did share together. Silver patiently awaited her return.

He sat on a padded seat that faced the door. The maintenance room had a working lamp that was on, yet the room still seemed shrouded in perpetual darkness. The dim light of the lamp did shed some light, but it mostly only exposed the rust of the steel support beams and the accumulated dust of disuse. The room was completely silent. Silver rocked in the chair lightly. It caused a creaking sound to fill the room with an ominous vibration. The seconds passed and became minutes, slowly ticking by as he waited. Then the door to the room swung open and a feminine figure in a black dress stood outlined in the doorway. It entered the room and the light revealed the face of Silver's sister, Blue.

"I'm home," she said as she entered. No noise in the world could have sounded more beautiful and be more welcomed then the sound of hearing Blue's voice. After she spoke, Silver arose from his chair and greeted her with a hug. Silver has always been a very reserved person and never showed his feelings or affection with anyone. The exception of course, was Blue. She was the only person in the world that he was affectionate towards and she was the only person he allowed to see his emotions.

They held their embrace as Silver said, "I missed you."

And Blue responded, "I missed you too." They let go of each other and both sat on the mattress in the corner of the room. They both talked of the things they did while they were apart from each other. They both talked fondly to each other. During their conversation, Blue said, "Hey, lets go out to eat tonight." She took some money out of her knapsack held it in view. She spoke triumphantly, "I scammed some poor sucker today into paying top dollar for a worthless scarf. We can go anywhere you want."

Silver laughed and said, "Anywhere I want? What's gotten into you?"

She giggled and said, "Nothing silly, I'm just so glad to see you that's all. So what do you say?"

Silver thought for a moment and said, "Its been a real long time since we've did something like this hasn't it?

Blue's smile turned melancholy as she responded wistfully, "Yeah it has."

"Alright then, I'd like that," Silver said.

"Yay!" Blue yelled with glee as she grabbed Silver by the hand and dragged him out the door. "I know the perfect restaurant that you'll just love. The décor is just wonderful and the food is absolutely delicious..."

"I thought you said I was gonna choose," said Silver.

"Oh, you are, I'm just making a suggestion is all." Their laughter filled the tunnels as they walked

The two sat in a small booth together and they faced across from each other. Silver had made his choice of this restaurant, which was Blue's suggestion. Their food had been brought to them and Blue said, "I just love French cuisine, c'est manifique." It was night time and their booth was located outside of the restaurant. The stars glimmered in the night sky. The wind was a gentle breeze that played with Blue and Silver's hair. The moon hung in the sky and shed its light down on them. It was a peaceful night. Silver looked down but did not touch his food. A look of concern painted his countenance. Blue asked him what was wrong.

"You're going to say something important." he said

Blue looked at him puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"Don't pretend like you don't know," he said. "The only time you ever pay for a meal like this, it is when you have to tell me something very important."

Blue's puzzled look was replaced with an expression of sadness. "Yeah, you're right." She clenched her hands on the table, "But I don't wanna tell you cause it'll make you sad." Silver nodded his head in understanding. She sighed as she braced herself and said, "Silver, I'm leaving you again. And this time we're not gonna see each other for a long time."

Silver felt a stab of sadness penetrate his heart. But he kept his composure and said, "Go on..."

"I have a lead on something..." said Blue, "that is too important to pass up. I leave in three days." Her head hung low, "I'm sorry."

Despite the pain that he felt at the knowledge of his sister departure, he put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up. Silver said,"Do what you have to do. I understand. Even if we gotta be apart, we'll always have each other."

A smile returned to Blue's face and she said, "Thank you...Silver." They both returned to eat their meals. The night winds moaned and rustled the tree leaves. The moon painted the night sky a wispy gray. Blue looked at Silver and it made her happy. Then a swift movement made her gaze drift to the side. Her eye caught a familiar figure that made her spring out of her chair.

"What's wrong?" Silver asked.

"It's the guy. The one I ripped off this afternoon." she explained.

Roark's form was visible in the moonlight. He still attired in the goofy schoolboy uniform, but something changed in his face. It was no longer awkward and embarrassed, but confident and malicious. He had a very unnerving smile burned into his face. His Smeargle was by his side and it glared with evil intent. Silver turned to see this sight and it made his skin crawl. Roark called out, "Blue! I hope I'm not interrupting, but I think your item is defective." He laughed at his remark.

Blue and Silver both looked at each other through their peripheral vision and understood each other without the need of any verbal communication. Silver rose from his chair. Blue winked at Roark as she said mockingly, "Sorry sweetie, no refunds," and with that they ran. Both Blue and Silver were very agile but Roark was prepared.

"Smeargle use extreme speed," and Smeargle charged. Smeargle flew right past the two and then blocked their path of escape. Blue shuddered at the fact that Smeargle was no longer acting with reluctant defiance, but it carried out its orders with complete obedience. "Oh no," said Roark as he casually walked towards the two. "You aren't going anywhere."

Blue grasped Silvers hand and she said, "What are you doing here, we've already spent your money."

Roark looked puzzled for a second and then he laughed. "Oh please, you think I'm here for the money?" Roark's laugh resembled the deranged cackle of a mad man.

"Then why are you here?" she asked

"Isn't it obvious?" Roark yelled. "Remember when you hugged me because you were so excited that I bought your trash? I placed a very small tracking device on your back so I sould follow you to Silver."

Blue's hand gripped tighter on Silver's, "What do you want with him?"

Roark cackled harder, then said, "Alright then let me spell it out for you. I have been hired by the Orimm gang, the people you stole money from, to take care of you. You get it now? I'm here to kill you both!"

Silver's face became a lit with rage as he said, "No one's gonna hurt my sister, especially not someone like you." He presented his Poke-ball and from his packet and released a Murkrow. It flew in the night sky with ease as it awaited it's order.

Roark raised his hands as he said, "Well ginger, you wanna go first huh? Alright lets play!"

"Peck!" yelled Silver as he gave his attack order. The Murkrow dived with it's beak extended, aiming for Roark and Smeargle.

"Machop use crosschop." Roark said, and from out of nowhere a shadow struck Murkrow and brought it to the ground. Machop used it's hands to crush Murkrow firmly into the ground

"That's the Machop from before," Blue exclaimed.

"Of course," said Roark, "It is my Pokemon."

"But that means...the battle... when we me each other..."

"Yes,"Roark said, "All one big set up." He held out his hand to reveal a black D shaped crest tattooed onto his hand. He laughed as he said, "Damage incorporated is known for it's effectiveness."

Blue's blood turned cold at the words, "Damage incorporated." She heard of the mercenary group before. Not much was known about it except that it had only a handful of members, but each member was extremely powerful and extremely dangerous.

Silver called out his Sneasel too. "Shadow claw!" he yelled and Sneasel swiped Roark's Machop off of Murkrow. He was about to launch a counter attack but then Blue grabbed him.

She said in frenzied panic, "Silver, he's too strong for us. We've gotta escape!" Silver was about to protest but then he saw the look of fear in Blue's eyes. It was a look that he rarely ever saw her have. He understood immediately. He called out to Murkrow and said, "Use haze!" and with that the entire area was enveloped in a thick dark cloud. Roark was blinded and could not see. When the cloud dissipated Blue and Silver were gone.

"Oops," said Roark as he scratched his head. "I let them get away." He returned his Machop to it's poke-ball and once again laughed his menacingly terrible laugh. As his Smeargle returned to his side, he began to speak, "Oh well, all's well that ends well. It can't be helped now. And who knows! It might even work to my advantage." He started strolling away leisurely. "Alright then, I think its safe to begin phase two of my plan."

A Jigglypuff gently drifted in the night sky. It was the Pokemon that brought Blue and Silver to safety. Neither of them spoke until they felt that they were far enough away from Roark. Silver had already plucked the tracking chip that was on Blue's dress off and flicked it into the night sky, so there would be no chance that Roark would find them. After awhile Silver broke the silence and asked, "What were you afraid of? Who was he?" Blue looked very grave but thoughtful as she spoke, "That guy was a mercenary for Damage Inc. They are a very small organization and very under the radar, but rumors say that Damage Inc. has some of the most dangerous people in the crime world. If that is true we wouldn't have stood a chance against him." Blue stared into the moonlight as she spoke.

"Well, what do we do? We can't just keep running," said Silver.

Blue thought for a second then said, "If the mercenary doesn't have an employer, than the contract is voided, at least that is how it normally works."

"So do you mean?"

Blue turned to face Silver and she smiled deviously as she said, "I think its time we payed good ole Orimm a visit."

Silver looked very grave but nodded in agreement. They descended from the sky and began to traverse on foot. Silver sighed apprehensively and said, "It can never be easy for us, huh?"

Blue's head sank low as she said, "Yeah, its always gonna be hard. Silver...I'm sorry. For everything. I just wanted to spend a couple of days together with you before we separated, but..." She hardly ever cried for real in front of people, she almost always and only fake cried to trick people, but at that point she was struggling against the sting of real tears in her eyes. "But I guess all that is ruined now."

Silver grabbed onto Blue's hand and held it reassuringly. He said, "Don't worry Blue, we'll face it all together."

Blue wiped the side of her eye. She couldn't speak but didn't need to. Silver's words made her feel better and she smiled again. They both continued on and planned their next course of action.

Chapter Three

In the past, Goldenrod City never had a problem with crime. It was only ever the occasional petty theft and small time drug trafficker. However, a small collective of gang members came out of nowhere and gained public notoriety. This group was organized under the leadership of Roderick Orimm. They started out fairly small but soon began to monopolize the city's underworld. Ever since, crime rates in the city went up by a great deal. For small time criminals, it had almost become impossible not to do business with the Orimm gang, because all of the city's fences were owned by Roderick Orimm. Before long, Roderick had a very profitable racket going.

The Orimm gang's central base was located in the slummier part of the city. The house that Roderick was inhabiting was very different from the surrounding buildings. It was a three story mansion. It was absolutely regal, but had the glow of wealth, enough so to deeply contrast with he shabby apartments and run down factories that surrounded it. There was an electric fence around the mansion and had two bouncers at the front gate to deter any people who might try and do Roderick harm. Even getting close to Roderick's home was enough to warrant a beating from the two guards. The local police had known of this den of thieves, but couldn't get a warrant because they couldn't pin any particular crimes on Roderick Orimm.

One particular day the sun was high in the sky. The two selected bouncers stood in their designated positions. They both stood and watched, as was their duty. One of the guards was distracted by a small leaf that twirled in the breeze. He mentally traced the path that the leaf followed as the breeze gently lifted it. Everything seemed not out of the, then suddenly a noise caught the attention of the two guards. The guard who watched the leaf quickly jerked his head into the direction of the sound. The voice was that of a girl who had called out to them. When their eyes converged on the source of the voice, a girl in a black dress stood before them. She said with mocking amusement in her voice, "Hey boys, any chance of me getting an audience with Orimm today?"

The first guard immediately recognized the girl as Blue. He said to his partner, "Hey thats the girl who stole from Roderick a month ago."

The other guard said to Blue, "You got a lot of nerve showing your face."

Blue laughed. She winked as she said, "Oh honey, now why would I go and do such a nasty thing like that?"

"I've had enough of this," said the first guard, "Lets teach this little brat a lesson." They both approached her with a look of satisfied malice in their eyes. Blue remained where she stood with her devious smile spread across her face. When the two guards came within the right distance, from out of the shadows came two black figures who simultaneously attacked the guards with swift ferocity. The sneak attack left the two guards disoriented. When they both reoriented to the situation, Blue had already called out her Jigglypuff and ordered it to sing. The guards fell to the ground, completely asleep.

Blue addressed the the person who came from the shadows, "Great job Silver, the plan worked perfectly." Silver responded with a smile as he retrieved the keys to the front gate from the guards. They unlocked the gate and entered into the mansion's outer grounds. They approached with quiet caution so as not to alert the inhabitants of the building. They approached the outer rim of the entrance, both on the opposite side of each other. Silver calmly awaited for Blue's signal. Blue edged herself toward the window and peered inside. She saw that there were three figures roaming in the front entrance. She held up three fingers so Silver could see and then with a series of hand movements, defined their exact locations. Silver gave a thumbs up to signal that he understood. Blue edged across the wall once more back to her original position. She began to count down with her fingers. Three. Two. One! She kicked the door open and Silver threw a makeshift smoke bomb into the room

Smoke filled the room entirely and none of the guards could see. It caused chaos as the guards all called out to one another to sound the alarms but then they were silenced as Blue and Silver bashed each one on the side of the head to knock them out. The commotion was heard by the other guards in the house and they all ran for the room. But by the time they got their, the smoke had cleared, and three guards lay unconscious on the floor. Blue and Silver were no where to be found.

The alarm was sounded and all the guards began to scramble and search the lower floor for the intruders. But Blue and Silver had already sneaked their way to the second floor, hiding in the shadows and masking their movement with silence. The shadows have always been an effective weapon for the duo. They made their way through the corridors of the building searching for Orimm's administrative office, where Orimm conducted all of major business transactions. Blue had a nearly photographic memory, so finding the room was no problem. It was located in a dark corridor on the western side of the second floor. Usually guards were posted at the entrance but the commotion on the lower floor had called them away.

Blue used her Ditto to unlock the door. Blue used her Ditto a lot for anything that required infiltration. They both braced themselves for the conflict that was about to ensue as they entered the room.

Orimm sat at his desk with his arms crossed. Orimm was a young man but his hair was already starting to gray. He wore a casual suit and was dressed fairly decently. He smiled at the sight of Blue and Silver. He said, "Well now, if it isn't the evil little children who stole from me."

"You know why we're here then," said Blue, "You made an attempt to take our lives, and we're not gonna take it."

"Oh really?" said Orimm, "lets see what my associate has to say." Orimm pointed to someone at the side of the room who went unnoticed by Blue and Silver up until that point. It was Roark.

"Hey, long time no see," Roark said with his demented grin spread across his face.

Silver looked at Blue and saw the fear spread across her face. He became filled with rage and brought out his Sneasel as he proclaimed, "I won't let you guys push us around!"

Blue cried, "Silver we've gotta run..."

"No, we have to fight!" he spoke with certain authority in his voice. "We can do this together, you and I." He smiled reassuringly. The fear that had over come Blue was melted and replaced with confidence.

"Okay," she said, "lets do it." She brought out her Jigglypuff and prepared her nerves for battle.

"Oh what a bother," said Orimm as he rose from his seat and strolled to the bookshelf. "Roark, take care of the brats. I'm gonna stay in the secret room while you do." He removed one of the books and the shelf opened like a door

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha, sure thing boss," Roark responded as Orimm retreated through the door like a coward. Roark then turned his attention to the two young adversaries that now opposed him. His speech was very calm as he said, "So, here we now stand. I now stand between you and the continuation of your lives. Oh, how many people would cower in such a situation, to be so close to death itself. And yet I see you two, standing strong, standing hand in hand, ready to fight for the lives you value, the life you possess yourself, and of course the life of your loved one. I wonder, how far are you two willing to go to protect your life. Do you value your existence highly, do you value the others existence highly? What length are you willing to go?" He paused for a second and waited to hear a response. Blue and Silver said nothing, they only glared at Roark with a determined gaze, determined to be the victors this day. Roark cackled his mad man's laugh and said, "Not going to speak huh? Very well, your eyes, your faces say more than words ever could. You do value your lives and the lives of each other, and are ready to protect them. Very well then," he pulled out a Pokeball and released his Smeargle, "Someone here will die today I can assure you that. I am so exhilarated to discover who it will be. Alright enough chit-chat, let the dance of death commence."

"Sneasel use slash," yelled Silver. Sneasel charged at breakneck speed.

Sneasel was barely an inch away from ripping into Roark's throat when he quietly muttered, "Karate chop." And Smeargle brought down a chop right on Sneasel's neck which crumpled it and brough it to the ground. "Oh dear, a dark and ice type. Fighting type moves must be very painful to your Sneasel." Blue called out to Jigglypuff to use rollout and it charged for Roark and Smeargle. They both jumped out of the way and Sneasel was free of Smeargle's grasp. Jigglypuff kept rolling and destroyed Orimm's desk.

"Lets turn up the heat, Smeargle flame thrower," yelled Roark and a fountain of flame burst from Smeargle's mouth enveloping the whole room in flames.

An intercom suddenly turned on, "Roark!" It was Orimm's voice, "Are you mad? You'll burn down the entire building!"

"I know!" Roark laughed, "Isn't the fire pretty?"

"This isn't what I wanted..." he didn't finish. Roark through a piece of the broken desk at the intercom and broke it.

"No more distractions. We'll deal with him in a moment, but for now lets have our fun, ha ha ha ha ha."

Blue and Silver fought Roark as the fire began to spread. On the lower floor they could here the guards scrambling to flee. The room began to fill with smoke and slowly became harder to see in. Blue ordered Jigglypuff to use rollout once more. Smeargle and Roark dodged the attack with finesse and Jigglypuff crashed into the bookcase.

The secret room Orimm had entered was now open. Orimm could be seen cowardly hiding in the corner.

Roark waved his hand in the air and said, "Okay that is enough." It caught Blue and Silver's attention and they both ceased to fight.

Silver, "Asked what do you mean?"

"What do I mean? Take a look around you." By this time the room was a blazing inferno, the heat was beginning to singe all of their clothes and tan all of their skins. "There is no point in continuing our game. It was fun while I lasted but now..." he paused as he returned Smeargle to it's pokeball. "You two might wanna get outta here before the whole place burns to the ground."

The two were stunned. Blue said, "You are gonna let us go. Just like that?"

"Yes..." Roark began cough slightly, "And you may want to leave now before it becomes impossible to breath."

Blue and Silver returned there Pokemon to their pokeballs and started for the door. Roark turned his back on them then Blue called out, "You aren't going?"

Roark turned his head and said, "afraid not, me and Roderick Orimm have a little business to discuss." After he said that Blue left. Roark turned his attention to Orimm. "Well, BOSS, lets have a little chat." Roark cracked his neck with relish then entered the secret room.

Blue and Silver ran down the hallways with breakneck speed. Up until now, their adrenaline was so high that they didn't notice the smoke or the heat, but now it had become a painful reality. They both covered their mouths with there hands, but the inhalation of smoke was inescapable. The heavy smoke burnt their eyes and made them water. The fire's heat hurt their skin. As they ran for their lives, suddenly a huge beam fell from the ceiling and struck Silver onto the ground. He was stuck. Blue tried desperately to remove the beam but, the smoke took its toll. Before Silver could tell Blue to leave him, she passed out. Silver struggled to get out from under the beam, but his eyes begun to go black and he felt his limbs become weak. He only succeeded in grabbing onto Blue's hand before he fainted as well.

Chapter 4

A dripping noise pounded the floor in a rhythmic tempo. The noise echoed through the dark void. The tempo was very hypnotic. Soon the noise was interrupted by the noise of an out of tune guitar, and the cursing of the owner who tried to put the guitar in tune.

Silver opened his eyes and looked around him. The room he was in was very dark, except for the dim light of one window. His eyes hurt but he could still see. The first thing he saw with perfect clarity was Roark sitting in the corner fiddling with the guitar he heard.

He looked to his side and much to his relief, saw Blue. She and him were both wrapped in a green blanket and were both next to each other. Her face was covered in grime but other than that she was okay. Silver carefully removed himself from the blanket so as not to awake her.

Roark noticed the movement and happily exclaimed, "Oh look you're awake."

Silver stood with much pain. His body was battered and bruised from when the beam fell on him. He staggered towards Roark.

Roark said, "A little bit of injury but nothing too serious. Same goes for Miss Scam over there."

"What happened?"

"The whole building burnt to the ground. Orimm had a bit of an...accident, and couldn't leave in time." He sat the guitar down and motioned for the window. "Don't take my word for it. We're right across the street from Orimm's. Take a look

Silver looked out the window. He saw fire trucks and police cars and dozens of spectators all circling around a smoldering pile of ash that once was the central operation of crime in Goldenrod. The police were now taking the opportunity to arrest the people who were employed by Orimm.

Silver returned his attention to Roark. "Why did you save us?"

"Because I could."

"That doesn't make sense you were trying to kill us."

"Yeah, funny how things work out." Roark skipped back to his guitar and picked it up. "Oh I don't know. Maybe I just thought it would be wasteful to let you die."

A loud moaning began to echo in the dark. Blue began to stir from under the blankets

"Well Ginger, looks like your wife is awake," Roark snickered.

Silver ran to Blue's side and put his hand on her shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes and muttered weakly, "Si...Silver. What happened?"

"Its okay. Roark rescued us."

"What, Roark?" she asked. She stood up with slight disorientation. "Where are we?"

"Eh, nowhere special." said Roark, "We're just in one of the foreclosed factories that was across from Orimm's lot."

"Why did you betray Orimm?"

Roark shrugged. "Long story short. I was never working for him. I was actually paid by another group to exterminate them."

"Who?"

"So many questions!" said Roark with minor annoyance, but was soon dissolved with his laughter as he spoke, "Haven't you ever heard of client confidentiality. Let's just say a certain interest is interested in expanding its horizons and they hired Damage Inc. too eliminate the competition."

Blue sighed and said, "I don't know why you went through the trouble of saving us, but regardless, thank you."

"Don't mention it Sweetie, it was my pleasure." Roark packed his guitar into its case and stood up. "Well you two have nice lives, I've got work to do, so I'm outta here..." Roark started to walk away.

"Wait," Blue said, "Don't leave, I need to ask some more questions."

"More questions!? Fine be quick."

Blue looked at Silver and then whispered something in his ear. Silver's eyes widened with surprise and he asked, "Are you absolutely sure you want to do that?"

"Yes Silver I'm sure."

"Okay, if you feel it is best, I trust your judgment." Despite his words, he felt a slight sting of distrust creep into his conscience. He didn't like the idea at all, but he knew he could not protest.

Blue returned her attention to Roark and then said to Roark, "I'd like to hire Damage Inc to do a job for me."

Roark's eyebrow raised and a Cheshire grin slowly spread across his face. "Really now? Curious." he paced for a second as he thought of Blue's offer. "How can you even trust me, hours ago I tried to kill you, on top of that I killed my last boss."

"No you didn't, you were following the orders of someone else and you did in the most effective way possible. Not to mention you did save our lives. Besides..." she affectionately wrapped her arms around Silver and winked as she said, "Me and Silvy aren't exactly the most trustworthy people either." Silver's face became as red as his hair as she spoke.

"Alright then." Roark shrugged. "My services aren't cheap either, you have money to pay for my services right?"

Blue laughed as she said, "Why do you think I stole from Orimm in the first place. So I could hire someone like you to help me."

"Alright then if you got the money. What is it you will have me do?"

Blue frowned and looked at the floor. Silver saw this and held onto Blue's hand. "I need to find my parents."

The smile that was on Roark's face dissolved. He spoke softly, "Your parents. A strange objective indeed. And for what purpose?"

Blue spoke with pain in her voice, "I was separated from them long ago. I've been trying to find them. I have a faint memory of where we used to live and I'm going to that region tomorrow but I need help, I don't know where to start."

"A very strange objective indeed, not usually the work of a typical mercenary. But it sounds like it would be interesting." he walked toward the two and extended his hand to be shook, "I think we can do business together." They all shook hands very solemnly and soon after departed.

This was the first encounter with Damage Inc. It was not the last.

The passenger ship that was leaving for the Kanto region was moments away from disembarking. It was a very sunny afternoon and the air felt very mellow and relaxing. It was a happy day for many people that day, but not for the passenger who was to leave her loved one for distant lands. They held each other for a long time dreading the moment their embrace must end.

"Take care of yourself Blue," said Silver.

"I will Silver, I'll contact you as often as I can," said Blue.

They regretfully parted and Blue boarded the passenger ship. As the ship began to set said they called out to each other and wished for the others safe return. It was a sad moment.

The ship creaked along the road of water. The inner bowels of the ship moaned with the movement. Somewhere in the innards of the ship was a room with a naval cot and a very small crate as it's only furniture. Seated upon the naval cot was Roark. He had out laid before him many black cards. Each card depicted a strange picture or image. He slowly arranged the cards into the desired order, contemplating the necessity of each position. The door to the room opened and a shadowy figure stepped in. He wore dark sun glasses that completely extinguished the eyes behind them. He had dark long curly black hair and he wore a top hat over it. Upon his back he carried an electric guitar. He stepped into the room.

"Well Slash you've returned." Roark said without taking his gaze away from the cards.

"I have," Slash responded. He closed the door behind him and entered the room. He seated himself in a corner began to casually strum the strings of his guitar. He spoke, "I see you are playing with Gabriel's cards."

"Yes," Roark said with a tone of indifference.

"How did your mission go?"

Roark chuckled and said, "Much better than expected, in fact we've taken on new clientele."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, a girl by the name of Blue and her brother Silver. A very strange job. They're actually about our age."

Slash nodded his head.

Roark continued, "Yes, we are to help locate the girl's missing parents and help reunite them," he stoped to move a card into a different position and then he turned his head up to look at Slash for the first time, "But there seems to be more to this job than meets the eye. Blue and Silver, there is something about those two that seem very very significant. Right now I'm gonna use Gabriel's cards to try and learn more about them. To discern there past, present, and future."

Slash sighed deeply and said, "I think you read to much into those cards."

"Oh shut up,"said Roark impatiently.

Ignoring that remark Slash said, "How much longer before we can stop working for Giovanni. I don't like subjecting Damage Inc. to that guy or his slimey organization."

"Not much longer. We've almost wiped out all the small gangs in Kanto and Johto. We need his confidence so when we make our move he won't see us coming." Roark laughed as he said, "Besides he is paying out the ass for the work we've been doing, and we kinda need the money."

"Yeah you're right."

"Okay," Roark said with a snap of his finger, "The cards are ready." He muttered under his breath as he flipped the first card. "This card represents the past of Blue and Silver. The first card, 'Masquerade." Well now thats a particularly dark card to get. It fortells of a dark past, an evil past. And a desperate struggle to cover it up. To mask it. Or to run away from it might be the appropriate term. The two seemed like they've been touched by the darkness." He flipped the second card, "This card will represent there present. 'Fork in the Road,' it is called. Oh now this card is a lot more hopeful. It represents life altering events. A change of destiny. Now of course whether or not it is a change for the better or worse remains to be seen. And now for the last card, the card that will represent their future." He flipped the card over. His face showed no physical signs of excitement but his body began to overflow with it when he saw this card. The card he had flipped depicted a moon being covered by a dark shadow. The menacing shadow seemed to wipe the moon from existence. The card was called, 'Last Eclipse.' Roark began to laugh. He cackled the blood curdling laugh of a mad man. After his fit of insane laughter he regained his composure and spoke, "Oh yes...I am going to enjoy working for these two." The room became silent. As silent as death.


End file.
